Intermittent strip roll feed

ABSTRACT

A roll feed for power presses and the like for imparting intermittent linear feed to strip stock, said feed comprising a pair of feed rollers through which the stock extends, said rollers being drivingly geared to each other, there being means for imparting oscillation to said rollers, one of said rollers being mounted for movement away from the other roller to disengage the stock located therebetween, and cam means controlled by reciprocation of the ram of the power press for causing said rollers to disengage the stock when the rollers are rotating in a reverse direction, said cam means permitting said rollers to drivingly engage said stock when the rollers are rotating in a forward or feed direction.

United States Patent Peterson Sept. 23, 1975 INTERMITTENT STRIP ROLL FEED Primary ExaminerRichard A. Schacher S l t: lG.Pt ,S ld,R.l. [7 1 men or Car e mnhfie Attorney, Agent, or FtrmSalter & Michaelson [73] Assignee: Cooper-Weymouth, Peterson, Inc.,

Westfield, Mass. [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: 1974 A roll feed for power presses and the like for impart- [21] AppL No'1459129 ing intermittent linear feed to strip stock, said feed comprising a pair of feed rollers through which the stock extends, said rollers being drivingly geared to [52] US. Cl.2 226/154 each other there being means f imparting m [51] Int. Cl. 8651-! 17/22 tion to Said rollers one f Said rollers being mounted [58] Field of Search 226/90, 154, 155 for movement away from the other roller to disengage the stock located therebetween, and cam means con- [56] References C'ted trolled by reciprocation of the ram of the power press UNITED STATES PATENTS for causing said rollers to disengage the stock when 2,693,955 11/1954 Maust 226/90 the rollers are rotating in a reverse direction, Said Cam 2,831,570 4/1958 Conrad 226/155 X means permitting said rollers to drivingly engage said 3,137,428 6/1964 Peterson 226/154 stock when the rollers are rotating in a forward or 3,493,159 3/1970 Balunas 226/154 x f d direction, 3,613,565 lO/l97l Muller 226/155 X 3,753,011 9/1973 Portmann 226/154 x 11 Clalms, 9 Drawmg lgur s US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet 1 of5 3,907,188

FlG.l

US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet 2 of5 3,907,188

US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet 3 of5 3,907,188

FIG.4

US Patent Sept. 23,1975 Sheet4 of5 3,907,188

FIG.9

INTERMITTENT STRIP ROLL FEED BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to feed mechanisms for power presses, such as stamping presses and the like, as well as other apparatus using a roll feed. In such apparatus, the roll feed imparts a predetermined linear movement to strip stock in timed sequence to the operation of the press. The type of operation being performed on the strip stock determines the required length of feed and the required length of time that the stock must remain stationary.

One type of roll feed that has often been used in connection with power presses, such as stamping presses and the like, is illustrated by US. Pat. No. 2,591,993 dated Apr. 8, 1952, and US. Pat. No. 3,505,890 dated Apr. 14, 1970. In roll feeds of this type, a pair of vertically aligned rollers are geared to each other for imparting linear feed to a strip that passes therebetween. Intermittent feed is imparted to the strip by an indexing mechanism mounted at the end of the shaft of one of the rollers, said indexing mechanism being driven by a pawl and ratchet arrangement, which in turn is driven by an arm eccentrically mounted on the flywheel of the stamping press. By adjusting the length of the oscillatory stroke of said arm, the length of feed may be adjusted.

Although roll feeds of this general type have proven to be effective for many years, recent developments in power presses, stamping presses and the like have resulted in presses which operate at greatly increased speeds of more than 1000 revolutions per minute, thus placing great strain on the indexing mechanism, and particularly the pawl and ratchet means that form a part thereof.

The present invention completely eliminates the use of indexing mechanism of the general type shown in the above mentioned patents and instead comprises a feed wherein the feed rollers are continuously oscillated but wherein cam means are provided for separating the rollers during the reverse stroke thereof to disengage the stock located therebetween, said cam means permitting the rollers to assume a driving or feeding relationship with respect to the strip during rotation of the rollers in a forward or feed direction. This general type of arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat No. 3,137,428 dated June 16, 1964, wherein wedge means are provided for automatically separating the rollers during reverse oscillation thereof, said wedge means automatically moving to inoperative position during rotation of the rollers in a forward or feed direction to permit the rollers to intermittently feed the strip stock. The problem with such an arrangement, particularly in high-speed operations, is excessive wear on the wedges, thus creating lubrication problems which have proven difficult to overcome.

It is therefore a primary objective of the present invention to provide improved means for separating the feed rollers when it is desired to disengage the stock located therebetween, i.e., during the reverse stroke or oscillation of said rollers, which means, at the same time, insure that the rollers will drivingly engage the stock to feed same during the forward stroke or oscillation of the rollers. This objective is achieved by utilizing cam means which are controlled by reciprocation of the ram of the power press, stamping press or the like. This is an extremely important feature of the present invention, since by controlling the feed of the stock by movement of the ram, greater feed accuracy is obtained. Expressed differently, since the critical feed requirement is that the stock be fed in proper timed relation to operation of the ram, it obviously follows that this requirement can best be met by having the feed directly controlled by movement of the ram.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide means for manually moving the feed rollers to their inoperative or non-feed position so that strip stock may be manually inserted when the machine is stopped. In addition, means are provided for rendering the cam means ineffective during the first stroke of the ram after the press is first started so that the strip will not be moved until the first operation has been performed thereon. Said means automatically become inoperative after one operation or stroke of the ram.

Other features, advantagesand objects of the invention will become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the illustrative drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings which illustrate the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the present invention:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a power press having the feed of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the roll feed per FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective showing the flywheel and eccentric assembly of the power press;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the roll feed;

FIG. 5 is a section taken on line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a section taken on line 66 of FIG. 2 showing the cam means in the position wherein the feed rollers are disengaged;

FIG. 7 is a section taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view, on an enlarged scale, looking from the left with respect to FIG. 2; and

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7 showing the toggle means and the cam latch means in their operative positions.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly FIG. 1, there is shown generally at 10 a power press comprising a roll feed mechanism shown generally at 12. The power press 10 comprises conventional apparatus and per se forms no part of the present invention, and hence detailed description thereof is deemed unnecessary. Generally speaking, however, it will be noted that the press 10 comprises a table or bed 14 on which is mounted a head portion 16 from which a reciprocating ram 18 depends. It will be understood that ram 18 carries any suitable tool or die 20 which cooperates with die bed 22 for successively performing a desired operation on metallic strip stock 24 which is intermittently fed by the roll feed 12. More specifically, the roll feed 12 functions to intermittently feed the strip stock, the feed being discontinued while the die 20 performs its operation on the stock, after which the stock is automatically fed inwardly a sufficient distance so that the same operation may again be performed. As will be obvious, in high speed presses which sometimes operate at a speed of more than 1000 revolutions per minute,

it will be apparent that the feed must be reliable and accurate, as well as durable in use.

The roll feed 12 comprises a housing 26 secured to the end of table 14 by any suitable means, which has mounted therein lower feed roller 28 and upper feed roller 30. More specifically, lower feed roller 28 is mounted on shaft 32 which is journalled in vertical walls 34, 36 and 38 of the housing 26. Secured to shaft 32 is a gear 40 which meshes with a larger gear 42 carried by shaft 44 journalled in vertical wall 34. Oscillatory movement is imparted to shaft 44 by means of lug 46 which is clamped thereon, as by clamping screw 48 (see FIG. 8) and which at its other extremity is connected by a universal ball joint 50 to arm 52 which in turn is connected to frame 54, as by universal ball joint 55. As will be seen most clearly in FIGS. 1 and 2, frame 54 is pivotally connected to top wall 56 of the housing 26 as at 58 whereby said frame member may pivot up and down. The aforesaid oscillating movement of frame 54 is imparted to it by means of arm 60 which is connected to the frame by universal ball joint 62. At its upper end, the arm 60 is connected to an eccentric 64 carried by flywheel shaft 66 of the press 10. It will therefore be seen that as flywheel 67 and eccentric 64 rotate, the crank arm 60 will be caused to reciprocate, thereby imparting up and down pivotal movement to the frame 54, which movement in turn causes oscillation of lug 46 by means of arm 52; and since the lug 46 is keyed to shaft 44, it follows that the latter will like wise oscillate. The same oscillatory movement is transmitted to lower roller 28 through the aforesaid gears 42 and 40. At its outer extremity, adjacent vertical wall 38, shaft 32 carries gear 68 which meshes with gear 70 carried by shaft 72 on which upper roller 30 is mounted. Thus, oscillation of lower roller 28 is imparted to upper roller 30 by means of gears 68 and 70.

It is important to note that shaft 72 is not journalled directly to the housing 26, but rather is journalled in a pair of spaced levers 74 which are pivotally mounted to vertical walls 36 and 38 as at pivot points 76. As will be seen most clearly in FIGS. 6, 7 and 9, pivotal movement of the levers 74 about pivot point 76 in a clockwise direction will cause upper roller 30 to be carried away from lower roller. 28 so as to discontinue driving engagement with strip stock 24 located therebetween. It will be understood that even though the rollers 28 and 30 separate sufficiently to discontinue feeding engagement with the strip stock 24, the driving engagement between the rollers by means of gears 68 and 70 continues to exist, since the depth of the gear teeth is sufficient to permit some degree of separation between the rollers without effecting disengagement of the gears. Adjustment screws 78 mounted in top wall 56 of housing 26 cooperate with springs 80 to normally urge levers 74 in a counterclockwise direction about pivot point 76; whereupon upper rollers 30 will normally be resiliently biased into contact with lower roller 28. By adjusting the screw 78, the resilient pressure contact between the rollers 28 and 30 may be readily adjusted.

It will be noted that gear 70 is preferably a split gear comprising halves A and B, which halves are rotatably adjustable with respect to each other, said adjustment being provided to reduce backlash when the spacing between gears 68 and 70 is changed, in the manner hereinafter to be described, to adjust for different thicknesses of strip stock 24.

The levers 74 are fixedly secured to a shaft 82 that ably mounted thereon. More specifically, cam 84 is clamped, as by screw 86, onto hub portion 88 which clampingly receives link 90 which is connected, as by universal joint 92, to arm 94, which in turn is connected by universal joint 96 to arm 98 fixedly carried by ram 18 of press 10. It will thus be seen that as ram 18 reciprocates upwardly and downwardly, arm 98 will impart oscillatory movement to cam 84 through arm 94 and link 90. Mounted to the housing 26, as at 100, is a plate 102 which rotatably carries a roller follower 104 which engages cam 84. More specifically, as will be seen, cam 84 is generally circular and comprises a relatively large radial portion 106 and a reduced radial or dwell portion 108. As previously described, springs normally bias the levers 74 in a counterclockwise direction around pivot point 76 whereby the cam 84 will be resiliently urged upwardly, into engagement with roller follower 104. More specifically, when the high point 106 of cam 84 is in engagement with follower 104, lever 74 will be forced downwardly or rotated in a clockwise direction about pivot point 76, against the action of spring 80, whereupon roller 30 will be raised away from roller 28 sufficiently to disengage the strip stock 24 located therebetween. When, on the other hand, during oscillation of the cam 84 the low point 108 thereof moves into engagement with follower 104, that end of the lever 74 will, in effect, be raised so as to impart a counterclockwise movement to the lever whereby roller 30 will again make driving contact with roller 28 to feed the strip stock 24. It will be understood that the springs 80 will always serve to maintain the cam 84 in engagement with follower 104; and hence when the follower moves off the high point of cam 84, the springs 80 will automatically move the lever until the low point of the cam moves upwardly into engagement with the follower.

Thus it will be seen that it is reciprocation of the ram 18 that directly controls oscillation of cam 84, which means that it becomes a simple matter to properly position the cam so that the rollers 28 and 30 drivingly engage the strip 24 to feed same during forward oscillation of the rollers, and, by the same token, to cause the rollers to separate to discontinue driving engagement with the strip 24 during reverse oscillation of the rollers. It will be understood that the length of the feed stroke may be adjusted by radially adjusting the point of connection of the arm 60 to eccentric 64, as is well known.

It has also been found desirable to provide positive limit means for the oscillatory movement of lug 46; and, to this end, limit blocks 1 12 are secured in arcuate trackway 114 of plate 116, which blocks function as positive limit means for the oscillatory stroke of lug 46, as will be seen most clearly in FIGS. 1 and 8. More specifieally, lug 46 carries inwardly extending pin 117 which engages the blocks 112 to define the limits of the oscillatory travel of lug 46, note FIG. 2. Thus, the blocks 112 insure that the proper feed stroke is maintained, and it will be understood that the position of said blocks may be adjusted to conform to different length strokes.

As will be obvious, the amount of undercut of dwell portion 108 with respect to radial portion 106 will determine the extent of movement of lever 74, it being understood that only a small degree of movement takes place, i.e., just enough to permit the rollers 28 and 30 to separate sufficiently so that the strip 24 extending therebetween will no longer be driven. If, however, thicker or thinner strip stock is employed, thus necessitating an increase or decrease in spacing between the rollers 28 and 30, adjustment means are provided for slightly raising or lowering follower 104. More specifically, an adjustment screw 110 is carried by top wall 56 of housing 26 and bears against the upper edge of plate 102 to act as stop means for limiting the uppermost position of roller 104. As will be obvious, appropriate adjustment of this screw will function to reposition follower 104 by pivoting plate 102 about pivotal mounting 100, whereupon if the follower 104 is permitted to slightly elevate, then obviously a greater degree of spacing will exist between the rollers 28 and 30, and vice versa.

Whenever the press is stopped, the'ram will always be in a position of top dead center, or close thereto, in which position the low point of cam 84 will be in engagement with follower 104, whereupon the rollers 28 and 30 will be in driving relation with respect to each other. When it is desired to once again start the press 10, it is desirable that means be provided for forcing lever 74 downwardly or in a clockwise direction so that the rollers 28 and 30 will be separated-sufficiently to permit the stock 24 to be manually threaded therethrough to a desired position with respect to ram 18. In order to accomplish this objective, a toggle mechanism 118 is mounted to the top of housing 26, which toggle is operative to extend pin 120 into engagement with upright post 122 carried by block 124 which is clamped or keyed to shaft 82. Thus, it will be seen that when toggle 118 is moved from the position of FIG. 6 to the'operative position of FIG. 9, pin 120 engages post 122 to impart a sufficient degree of clockwise moment to shaft 82 and hence levers 74, so as to cause the latter to move to the position illustrated in FIG. 9 wherein the rollers are in separated or nondriving relation, whereupon stock 24 may be manually pushed in through friction brake and lead-in guides 125 until the strip passes between rollers 28 and 30 and assumes the desired position with respect to ram 18. If at this point the toggle 1 18 were released and the press 10 started up, it will be obvious that the initial reciprocation of ram 10 would cause movement or feed of the strip stock. Since, however, it is desired that the strip be maintained in the precise position to which it is manually fed until the first press operation has been performed, means are provided for preventing movement or feed of the strip during the first operation of the press after start-up of the latter. More specifically, cam 84 is provided with a latch member 126 that is rotatably mounted with respect thereto and extends radially to a position wherein it overlies a part of dwell portion 108. Any suitable resilient means are provided for normally urging or rotating latch member 126 in a clockwise direction to the inoperative position illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. When, however, the press 10 has been stopped, and toggle member 118 has been actuated to force lever 74 and earns 84 in a downward or clockwise direction, the latch member 126 is manually swung or rotated to the opposite end of dwell portion 108, as illustrated in FIG. 9. At this point, toggle mechanism 118 is released whereupon latch member 126 is clampingly engaged in said operative position due to the pressure thereagainst of follower 104. As will be noted, latch member 126 is specifically designed so as to fill a part of dwell portion 108; and hence, in effect, when latch 126 is in its operative position, it actually forms a continuation of enlarged radial portion 106 of the cam member so as to increase the working surface thereof. Thus, the presence oflatch member 126 in its operative position prevents the cam 84 and plate 74 from moving upwardly to move the feed rollers into driving relation with strip 24. However, as soon as ram 18 has moved sufficiently to oscillate cam 84 to the point where radius 106 makes engagement with follower 104, latch member 126 will be released and will automatically move to inoperative position once again, either by suitable spring means, or by gravity. This arrangement permits the first operation of the press 10 to be performed on the stock 24 at the precisely desired position on the latter, since no feeding of the stock takes place until the first reciprocation of the ram has been completed and latch 126 has moved to inoperative position to then allow the feed means to take over in the manner previously described.

As will be obvious, ram 18 and eccentric 64 operate in timed relation with respect to each other so that as V the feed rollers 28 and 30 are being driven or oscillated in a forward or feed direction, cam 84 will be properly oscillated so as to insure that the feed rollers are making driving or feeding engagement with the strip 24. Conversly, when the feed roller 28 and 30 are oscillating or rotating in a reverse direction, cam 84 insures that the strip 24 will be disengaged by rollers 28, 30. By loosening screw 86 and adjusting the position of cam 84 on hub 88, the timing of cam 84 may be adjusted, i.e., the time at which the cam moves either up or down to control movement of roller 30, all as aforesaid.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A roll feed for intermittently feeding strip stock to a power press having a reciprocating ram, comprising a pair of drivingly engaged rollers between which said stock extends, means carried by said press imparting oscillatory movement to said rollers, one of said rollers being movable between a first position wherein said stock is drivingly engaged by said rollers and a second position wherein said stock is disengaged, resilient means normally urging said one roller to said first position, and cam means controlled by movement of said ram for moving said one roller to said second position, said cam means being operable in timed relation to said oscillating means whereby so long as said rollers are rotating in a forward or feed direction, said one roller is in said first position, and so long as said rollers are rotating in a reverse direction, said one roller is in said second position, said one roller being journalled on a pivotally mounted lever, said cam means being rotatably carried by said lever, link means interconnecting said cam means and said ram whereby reciprocation of the latter imparts oscillatory movement to the former, and a cam follower cooperating with said cam means during oscillation of the latter to cause pivoting of said lever to move said one roller to its aforesaid first and second positions.

2. In the roll feed of claim 1, manual means operable to move said one roller to said second position regardless of the position of said ram.

3. In the roll feed of claim 2, said manual means comprising a toggle linkage.

4. In the roll feed of claim 2, means carried by said cam means and movable with respect thereto to maintain said one roller in said second position for a predetermined period of time, regardless of the position of said ram,

5. In the roll feed of claim 4, said predetermined period of time being approximately equal to the time required for one stroke of said ram.

6. In the roll feed of claim 4, said cam means being generally circular and having a dwell portion, said movable means comprising a latch member which when moved to operative position fills a part of said dwell portion so that the working surface of said cam temporarily assumes a generally constant radius.

7. In the roll feed of claim 6, said latch member being rotatably mounted with respect to said cam means, and means normally biasing said latch member to inoperative position.

8. A roll feed assembly for intermittently feeding strip stock to a power press or the like comprising a housing, a first roller journalled in said housing, a lever pivotally mounted on said housing, a second roller rotatably carried by said lever, gear means drivingly interconnecting said rollers, resilient means normally urging said lever to a first position wherein said second roller engages said first roller to feed stock passing therebetween, means imparting oscillating movement to said rollers, a generally circular cam rotatably mounted on said lever, said cam having a dwell portion, a follower mounted on said housing, said resilient means urging said cam against said follower, means imparting oscillating movement to said cam, said movement causing said second roller to move away from said first roller when said follower engages the high point of said cam and permitting said second roller to engage said first roller when said follower engages said cam dwell portion, means correlating the oscillation of said rollers with the oscillation of said cam whereby when said rollers are rotating in a forward or feed direction, they drivingly engage stock therebetween to feed same, and when said rollers are rotating in a reverse direction, they are spaced from each other so that the stock is not engaged, and manual means operable to pivot said lever to a position wherein said rollers are separated, regardless of the position of said cam.

9. The assembly of claim 8 further comprising means for readily adjusting the position of said follower to permit adjustment of the spacing between said rollers when the latter are out of engagement with each other.

10. In the assembly of claim 8, latch means carried by said cam and movable to an operative position to fill a part of said dwell portion whereby the working surface of said cam assumes a substantially constant radius, and means normally biasing said latch means to an inoperative position, whereby when said latch means is moved to its operative position, said second roller is maintained spaced from said first roller.

11. In the assembly of claim 10, said latch means being maintained in its operative position solely by engagement with said follower, said latch means automatically moving to inoperative position as soon as oscillation of said cam causes said follower to move out of contact with said latch means.

l l l 

1. A roll feed for intermittently feeding strip stock to a power press having a reciprocating ram, comprising a pair of drivingly engaged rollers between which said stock extends, means carried by said press imparting oscillatory movement to said rollers, one of said rollers being movable between a first position wherein said stock is drivingly engaged by said rollers and a second position wherein said stock is disengaged, resilient means normally urging said one roller to said first position, and cam means controlled by movement of said ram for moving said one roller to said second position, said cam means being operable in timed relation to said oscillating means whereby so long as said rollers are rotating in a forward or feed direction, said one roller is in said first position, and so long as said rollers are rotating in a reverse direction, said one roller is in said second position, said one roller being journalled on a pivotally mounted lever, said cam means being rotatably carried by said lever, link means interconnecting said cam means and said ram whereby reciprocation of the latter imparts oscillatory movement to the former, and a cam follower cooperating with said cam means during oscillation of the latter to cause pivoting of said lever to move said one roller to its aforesaid first and second positions.
 2. In the roll feed of claim 1, manual means operable to move said one roller to said second position regardless of the position of said ram.
 3. In the roll feed of claim 2, said manual means comprising a toggle linkage.
 4. In the roll feed of claim 2, means carried by said cam means and movable with respect thereto to maintain said one roller in said second position for a predetermined period of time, regardless of the position of said ram.
 5. In the roll feed of claim 4, said predetermined period of time being approximately equal to the time required for one stroke of said ram.
 6. In the roll feed of claim 4, said cam means being generally circular and having a dwell portion, said movable means comprising a latch member which when moved to operative position fills a part of said dwell portion so that the working surface of said cam temporarily assumes a generally constant radius.
 7. In the roll feed of claim 6, said latch member being rotatably mounted with respect to said cam means, and means normally biasing said latch member to inoperative position.
 8. A roll feed assembly for intermittently feeding strip stock to a power press or the like comprising a housing, a first roller journalled in said housing, a lever pivotally mounted on said housing, a second roller rotatably carried by said lever, gear means drivingly interconnecting said rollers, resilient means normally urging said lever to a first position wherein said second roller engages said first roller to feed stock passing therebetween, means imparting oscillating movement to said rollers, a generally circular cam rotatably mounted on said lever, said cam having a dwell portion, a follower mounted on said housing, said resilient means urging said cam against said follower, means imparting oscillating movement to said cam, said movement causing said second roller to mOve away from said first roller when said follower engages the high point of said cam and permitting said second roller to engage said first roller when said follower engages said cam dwell portion, means correlating the oscillation of said rollers with the oscillation of said cam whereby when said rollers are rotating in a forward or feed direction, they drivingly engage stock therebetween to feed same, and when said rollers are rotating in a reverse direction, they are spaced from each other so that the stock is not engaged, and manual means operable to pivot said lever to a position wherein said rollers are separated, regardless of the position of said cam.
 9. The assembly of claim 8 further comprising means for readily adjusting the position of said follower to permit adjustment of the spacing between said rollers when the latter are out of engagement with each other.
 10. In the assembly of claim 8, latch means carried by said cam and movable to an operative position to fill a part of said dwell portion whereby the working surface of said cam assumes a substantially constant radius, and means normally biasing said latch means to an inoperative position, whereby when said latch means is moved to its operative position, said second roller is maintained spaced from said first roller.
 11. In the assembly of claim 10, said latch means being maintained in its operative position solely by engagement with said follower, said latch means automatically moving to inoperative position as soon as oscillation of said cam causes said follower to move out of contact with said latch means. 